Wealth and Money — Government “Help” Isn’t Needed to Create It

Adolescent girls babysit for it and adolescant boys will mow lawns to get it.

Wall Street wizards develop credit default swaps, sub prime mortages, mutual funds and Initial Public Offerings to get more of it (some good things, some not so much).

Visionary, tough minded people drove the creation of railroads, steamships and gold mines across the American continent in the 19th century to create wealth beyond the average person’s dreams at the time.

Inventors all over the world toil to create ‘better mouse traps’ so that they can earn wealth as I write this.

Companies spend billions in research and development to create iPods, ShamZows, Ford F150s and Advil to create the opportunity to earn more billions.

In short, the creative energy of nearly the entire country, if not the First World, is devoted to finding ways to turn ideas into wealth. It’s what capitalism does best.

If using wind energy, solar panels or geothermal energy could make someone wealthy, it probably would have happened of its own accord by now. If there is something causing the free market to show the risk or return for these ventures is not sufficient to encourage someone to do it, then it probably shouldn’t be done. If there was money to be made without manipulating government policy and siphoning off some great ‘tax credit,’ someone would have already done so. Steve Jobs didn’t wait around for a government program to invent the iPhone; Henry Ford didn’t go to Congress to launch the Model T. Boeing didn’t build the 707 in response to a government handout on air travel.

Sure, there are some things — rare things — like the Panama and Suez Canals, that might need government capitalization (but private firms to do the work!). But in the main, things worth doing can develop wealth of their own accord without help from the government; wealth, properly managed can lift nations and people to higher standards of living.

So the President wants to spend even more money to create “green jobs.” He is spending $2.3B to create 17,000 jobs, or about $135,000 per job, when the economy has lost well over 4,500,000 jobs since he took office. At that rate, he’ll have to add another $605B to find the rest of the unemployed the same kind of jobs (after all, that would be the ‘fair thing to do, right?).

And these are just “temporary” jobs–so he’ll have to supply another $600B or so in a year or two, and every year thereafter, or they’ll lose these jobs. Guess what? We don’t have the money to support this!!

This pathetic attempt to stimulate jobs is all smoke, mirrors and good intentions…for naught. We should encourage Congress to convince the President not to bother. Get out of the way and let the free market handle it, Mr. President. We need you to focus on foreign policy and defense of the nation.